The Partnership brings together students and faculty from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Se’Si”Le and its environmental allies.

It enables students and faculty to  get a close-up view of key environmental challenges and more deeply engage with Indigenous perspectives on climate change and environmental justice issues.

Participants explore environmental challenges through the lens of right and respectful relations, developing a deeper understanding of climate change, conservation, and environmental justice grounded in place, responsibility, and relationship.

Guiding Questions

Project conversations are shaped by four core questions:

• How do Indigenous peoples understand nature and humanity’s relationship to it?
• How does this understanding influence relationships with state and federal agencies, scientific institutions, and public narratives about nature?
• What does environmental justice mean within Indigenous communities?
• How can diverse cultures and sectors work together to restore respectful relationships with the natural world—and with one another?

Outcomes and Reach

• Experiential, place-based learning for future leaders and scholars
• Strengthened relationships between Indigenous communities, academic institutions, and environmental partners
• Cross-cultural insights that inform policy, research, and community-based solutions

Findings and insights from the Labs to Land Project will be published and shared publicly, extending the impact of this work beyond the field and into broader conversations about sustainability, justice, and shared responsibility.